What is MPW?
Medical Peace Work (MPW) is an transdisciplinary field of expertise in health work, violence prevention and peace building.
Medical Peace Work uses a public health approach to violence prevention, and deals with the peace capacity of health professionals. The Medical Peace Work framework draws heavily on the experiences of Health as a Bridge to Peace (WHO) and Peace through Health (McMaster University), as well as on other relevant concepts and disciplines like Global Health, Violence Prevention, Health & Human Rights, and Medicine & War.
So, Medical Peace Work essentially refers to using the health professionals’ peace-qualities, -tools and -opportunities intentionally for improving health through peace work.
Who is this course for?
Medical Peace Work (MPW) courses and teaching resources offer an introduction in violence prevention and peace building for doctors, nurses, public health workers, mental health practitioners, other health professionals, as well as students in these fields. In particular it is meant for those who:
- Want to strengthen their peace and conflict competencies.
- Intend to work for humanitarian, development, human rights, or medical peace organizations abroad or at home.
- Want to improve health outcomes for their patients and communities in violence-prone settings.
Why learn about MPW?
Medical Peace Work (MPW) education helps you to:
- Apply a public health approach to war and other forms of violence.
- Increase your knowledge about the health impact of direct and structural violence on individuals and societies.
- Understand the range of different ways in which health care workers can conduct health work in a conflict sensitive and peace responsive manner.
- Explore your own peace qualities as a health professional and increase your awareness of asymmetric power relations and violent structures.
- Recognize and exploit opportunities for violence prevention and peace promotion at your workplace and in clinical practice.